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REVIEWS
Mean Enough Hot Enough
Stereotype
Occult Casualty
Overrule
Sociopathic
Dark Discordia
Game Called Life (XP8 Mix)
Decapitation (Ambassador 21 Mix)
People Killing People (kAlte fArben Mix)
Cooler than Genocide (Caustic Oi Vey Mix)
Annihilation Day
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Experiment Haywire
Annihilation Chic
machineKUNT Records
Posted: Wednesday, June 18, 2008
By: Ilker Yücel
Editor
By: Ilker Yücel
Editor
A full-length debut of irreverent industrial punk that is far from groundbreaking, though it provides good fodder for the noise-ridden dance floor.
Rachel Haywire has become something of a cult figure in today's industrial scene as the quintessential riot grrl, gradually building a following with her noisy brand of harsh electronic music. In a few short years, she's amassed a small but intriguing body of work, resulting in several singles, compilation appearances, and the establishment of her own machineKUNT label dedicated to promoting female artists in the harsh electronic and industrial underground. Now working with producer Xris Flam, Haywire releases her full-length debut, Annihilation Chic, which shows Haywire moving into a crisper production sound without sacrificing the rough edges that defined her earlier work.
Beginning with the eerie "Mean Enough Hot Enough," we are immediately treated to sparse synth leads and pulsating bass lines, typical of EBM, topped off with distorted beats that are just shy of power noise. "Stereotype" and "Occult Casualty" follow suit, while "Sociopathic" takes on a more abstract composition, with little in the way of a danceable bass line and full of mechanical percussive and synth stabs, coming across as the most old-school industrial track on the CD until "Annihilation Day." A collaboration with Christian Wright, with whom Haywire works in Societal Demise, those familiar with Wright's work in Bajskorv will recognize the scrapyard-like constructions of layers upon layers of discordant sounds, creating a blisteringly dense atmosphere akin to a factory resonating with malfunctioning equipment.
And then there are the remixes, beginning with XP8's trancelike take on "A Game Called Life" - perfect for the dance floor, but adding little to the album's overall noisy vibe. Ambassador 21 and Caustic are, on the other hand, more complementary with their respective mixes of "Decapitation of the Nation" and "Cooler than Genocide," both speeding the pace up and turning the distortion up just enough to keep it from being too unbearable, but it is kAlte fArben's mix of "People Killing People" that stands out the most. Taking some interesting liberties with Haywire's voice, the thrumming bass line and shrill synths make for a surprisingly edgy track.
Those listeners unfamiliar with her sound may be put off by her sometimes spoken, sometimes shouted vocals, doing little to adhere to any sense of melody or tonality - a quality that stems from her punk influences. Others may not find her work all that impressive or groundbreaking given the plethora of other artists in the field, and this writer certainly wouldn't argue. However, where others try to retain some sense of musicality or melody, Haywire stays true to her roots and keeps the aggression and the noise on high. If nothing else, Annihilation Chic provides a few fine tracks for the industrial DJs in search of something simple, loud, irreverent, and danceable.
Beginning with the eerie "Mean Enough Hot Enough," we are immediately treated to sparse synth leads and pulsating bass lines, typical of EBM, topped off with distorted beats that are just shy of power noise. "Stereotype" and "Occult Casualty" follow suit, while "Sociopathic" takes on a more abstract composition, with little in the way of a danceable bass line and full of mechanical percussive and synth stabs, coming across as the most old-school industrial track on the CD until "Annihilation Day." A collaboration with Christian Wright, with whom Haywire works in Societal Demise, those familiar with Wright's work in Bajskorv will recognize the scrapyard-like constructions of layers upon layers of discordant sounds, creating a blisteringly dense atmosphere akin to a factory resonating with malfunctioning equipment.
And then there are the remixes, beginning with XP8's trancelike take on "A Game Called Life" - perfect for the dance floor, but adding little to the album's overall noisy vibe. Ambassador 21 and Caustic are, on the other hand, more complementary with their respective mixes of "Decapitation of the Nation" and "Cooler than Genocide," both speeding the pace up and turning the distortion up just enough to keep it from being too unbearable, but it is kAlte fArben's mix of "People Killing People" that stands out the most. Taking some interesting liberties with Haywire's voice, the thrumming bass line and shrill synths make for a surprisingly edgy track.
Those listeners unfamiliar with her sound may be put off by her sometimes spoken, sometimes shouted vocals, doing little to adhere to any sense of melody or tonality - a quality that stems from her punk influences. Others may not find her work all that impressive or groundbreaking given the plethora of other artists in the field, and this writer certainly wouldn't argue. However, where others try to retain some sense of musicality or melody, Haywire stays true to her roots and keeps the aggression and the noise on high. If nothing else, Annihilation Chic provides a few fine tracks for the industrial DJs in search of something simple, loud, irreverent, and danceable.
